No person shall engage in or carry on any business in Absecon
City, nor aid or assist as employee, clerk or otherwise in carrying
on such business or in using any wagon, vehicle, stand, store or other
place or thing, nor sell or offer for sale any goods or thing for
which a license is required by the terms of this chapter, unless a
license, as herein provided for, shall have been first obtained therefor.

Application for license shall be made to the Mercantile Tax Collector
of Absecon City, and no license shall be granted until payment for
the same shall have been made. Every license shall specify by name
the person to whom it shall be issued, the business for which it is
granted and the location at which such business is to be carried on.

Each application for a new business, not previously licensed, shall
be referred to the Chief of Police or a Police Officer designated
by the Chief who shall undertake an investigation of the applicant's
suitability for a license, including the applicant's character,
honesty, and integrity as they may be relevant to the conduct of the
business. This investigation shall include, but need not be limited
to, a criminal history record background check for the presence of
potentially disqualifying criminal record. The investigation shall
determine if the applicant's background indicates a reasonable
likelihood that the applicant would conduct the business honestly,
free from fraud or serious misconduct, and generally in accordance
with the law.

The investigation shall be completed as soon as is possible and the
findings provided to the Mercantile License Clerk with a recommendation
as to whether such license should be issued. If the investigation
recommends against the issuance of a license, then the Mercantile
License Clerk may not issue the license, but the applicant may request
a review of the application by the Public Safety Committee of the
Municipal Council which shall consider the matter at its next regularly
scheduled meeting. If after review of the application, the Public
Safety Committee does not issue the license, the applicant may request
a hearing before the Public Safety Committee of the Municipal Council,
such hearing shall be held within 30 days of a request by the applicant.

In addition to any other required fees, the applicant shall be responsible
for the cost of the criminal history record background check. The
applicant shall submit a check or money order in the amount of such
fees as may be imposed by the Superintendent of the State Police,
payable to the New Jersey State Bureau of Investigation (NJSBI) at
the time the application is submitted. The applicant shall complete
such application forms as may be required by the City, including a
consent to the background check.

Temporary Mercantile License. In addition to the foregoing requirements,
and without in any way diluting them, an applicant shall be granted
a Temporary Mercantile License if the Applicant denies any criminal
history and any one of the following requirements are met:

The Applicant has had a full background check done within two years
of his/her applying for the Mercantile License in the City of Absecon
and the Applicant has provided the results to the Chief of Police;
or

If the background check, which is completed pursuant to the requirements
noted in paragraph B(1), reveals information that would warrant a
Mercantile License not being issued, then the Applicant's Temporary
Mercantile License shall be immediately revoked and the business shall
be closed.

Mobile businesses are entities that have no permanent location and
operate form a moving vehicle or carrying device, including but not
limited to cars, trucks, vans, boats, carts, bicycles. The moving
unit may traverse the waterways and roads of the City of Absecon from
9:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m., seven days a week.

All license fees shall be due and payable to the Mercantile
Tax Collector at the office in the Municipal Complex, 500 Mill Road,
Absecon City, New Jersey, on the first day of May in each year, and
all such licenses shall expire on the 30th day of April following.

The license fees to be paid annually to the City of Absecon City
as above provided for conducting the businesses herein named at the
places to be designated in the license certificate issued therefor,
or as provided for Mobile Licenses as described later in this chapter,
shall be as follows:

No license shall be granted for any business until the Construction
Official certifies, in writing, to the Mercantile Tax Collector that
the applicant has complied with all the ordinances and regulations
pertaining to said business.

No license shall be granted for any new commercial business establishment
until and unless the Planning Board of the City of Absecon City has
certified, in writing, to the Mercantile Tax Collector that all provisions
of the ordinances of the City of Absecon City and laws of the State
of New Jersey pertaining to municipal site plan review have been complied
with.

No license certificate shall be issued to any person who has not
complied with the laws of the State of New Jersey or the ordinances
of Absecon City providing regulations respecting the safety of persons
who may have occasion to use the premises, place or thing licensed,
and in case any person licensed fails to comply with such laws or
ordinances after due notice and opportunity to be heard, the Council
of Absecon City may revoke such license.

All licenses issued for new businesses between the first day of November and the first day of May following in any year shall be issued for 1/2 of the fees mentioned in Section 234-4 hereof, with the exception of seasonal business such as, but not limited to, tax services, holiday-related businesses, etc.

Any proper officer be and is hereby authorized and directed
to use such of the police force of the City as is necessary to execute
and enforce all necessary and lawful police regulations as may best
protect and facilitate the carrying on of the several businesses,
trades and occupations licensed by this chapter.

The use of the word "business" shall, for the purpose of this chapter,
be decreed to include all businesses, trades, professions and vocations,
except that no Mercantile License is required for any person/business
offering ONLY a service if said service requires an annual State licensing.
If any person/business offering such a service, sells any merchandise
or product, either retail, wholesale or at auction, then a Mercantile
License is required.

The use of the words "criminal history record background check" or
"background check" shall, for the purpose of this chapter, mean a
determination whether a person has a criminal record by cross referencing
that person's name with the records available to the State Bureau
of Identification in the Division of State Police.

Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) above, an
applicant shall not be disqualified for a license on the basis of
any conviction disclosed by a criminal history check if the individual
has demonstrated evidence of rehabilitation or if the offense is not
relevant to the particular business. In making such determination,
the following facts may be considered: the nature of the business
being sought to be licensed, the nature and seriousness of the offense,
the circumstances under which the offense occurred, the date of the
offense, the age of the applicant when the offense was committed,
whether the offense was repeated and other evidence of rehabilitation
including subsequent conduct in the community and the acquisition
of academic or vocational education.

The use of the word "applicant" shall, for the purpose of this chapter,
shall mean if an individual, such individual; if a partnership, all
partners; and if a corporation, limited liability company or other
business entity; all shareholders or interest holders having more
than 10% ownership.

It shall be a condition to the issuance of any and all licenses
under this chapter that said business shall be used and operated only
for lawful purposes. No commercial landlord shall permit any unlawful
business to lease, rent or otherwise use space in the landlord's
property. It shall also be the obligation of all commercial landlords
to advise their tenants that the City of Absecon has a Mercantile
License Ordinance that may require said tenant to obtain a license
before operating their business.

Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall,
upon conviction, be punished for each offense by a fine not to exceed
$500 or by imprisonment for any term not to exceed 90 days in the
County jail or in any place provided by the municipality for the detention
of prisoners, or both. The Municipal Judge before whom any person
is convicted of violating this chapter shall have power to impose
any fine or term of imprisonment not to exceed the maximum fixed in
this chapter.

In default of the payment of any fine imposed hereunder, any person
convicted of any violation may, in the discretion of the Judge by
whom he was convicted, be imprisoned in the County jail or place of
detention provided by the municipality for any term not to exceed
90 days.

The maximum fine for a commercial landlord failing to notify his/her tenant(s) in accordance with Section 234-13 above, shall be $50. Subsequent offenses shall be in accordance with paragraph a. above.

Every person conducting a business required to be licensed hereby
shall permit the Mercantile Tax Collector or his accredited agents
or assistants to have access to any building for the purpose of ascertaining
whether there has been compliance with the provisions of this chapter
and other ordinances and to determine the fees to be paid, and any
refusal thereof shall be deemed a violation of this chapter, and the
violator shall be subject to the penalties.